


collecting pictures from a flood that wrecked our home

by simonsjumpers



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: M/M, Missing Scene, Spoilers for The Raven King, The Raven King - Freeform, The Raven King Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 02:49:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6686140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simonsjumpers/pseuds/simonsjumpers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TRK SPOILERS</p>
<p>A missing scene between the last chapter and the epilogue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	collecting pictures from a flood that wrecked our home

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for TRK!
> 
> Title taken from Youth by Daughter

“I could come?”

Adam rolled his eyes. Ronan thought it was very Adamlike, even though a lot of things had not been very Adamlike recently. Or they were Adamlike, but Ronan was just taking his time getting used to them. Fingers removing his shirt, fingers tracing the black lines of his tattoo, fingers at his lips. 

“I don’t think that will be helpful,” Adam replied.

Ronan knew he was right. While Aurora had loved Adam, he didn’t think Robert Parrish would return the favour and love Ronan, who had beaten him back for the times Adam couldn’t, condemned him in court, and, oh, spat on his land.

“Do you know what you’re going to say?” Ronan asked. It wasn’t really a question.

Adam sighed, a normal sigh, there was no weight on his shoulders anymore. “I have for a long time.”

Ronan wanted to tell Adam not to go. He wanted to stay where they were, sprawled on the couch at the Barns like the first time. He wanted to beg Adam not to forgive them.

But he knew Adam Parrish. This was not as simple as forgiveness, maybe it wasn’t that at all. This was closure. This was Adam Parrish surviving the storm, and still offering an olive branch because he was a good person. This was Adam Parrish. Knowable.

And Ronan Lynch. Who was he now? An orphan? A father? Happy? All of the above? He thought he heard Cabeswater in the back of his mind, despite the impossibility of it. Happiness, it insisted. Happiness.

Adam propped himself up on his arms, “are you okay with me going?”

Ronan didn’t know what he was asking. Are you okay with me going to see my parents? Are you okay with me leaving Henrietta? Are you okay?

“Yes.” He said simply, because this was an afternoon for truth.

Adam smiled softly, “well, alright then,” leaving in the Henrietta gs.

Adam got up, dusting down his khaki shorts, putting on shoes with clean toes.

“You should join the others, Blue probably wants to thank you for the present.”

“I don’t need to be there, they’ll understand my reasons.”

“Wouldn’t want to be a third wheel,” Adam chuckled.

“That role seems to be already filled by Mr.RoboBee.”

Adam brought his hand to Ronan’s cheek. 

“You should do something while I'm gone.” There was a strain of worry in Adam’s voice, and if it had been anyone but Adam, Ronan would have brushed it off.

“I’ll be fine,” Ronan whispered. His grief was there. For Aurora, for Gansey 2.0, for Noah. But he had old and new friends by his side, and he felt for the first time, he could deal with it.

They were yet to properly grieve for Noah. He knew all of them felt that that couldn’t simply be it. They’d of course noticed him fading, but this time was he really gone? He remembered the last thing Noah had said to him, when he’d been like a statue gripping the steering wheel in the car. Thank you for remembering me. Ronan swallowed, what a terrible job they’d done so far. He made a promise to himself to break the injunction stopping him from using his phone and call everyone round tonight. It was time to talk about Noah, to remember him.

Adam was looking at him, expecting him to say something more than just I’ll be fine.

“I’ll go to–“ he stopped himself, he nearly said Cabeswater “–the forest.”

“Are you going to take the girls?” Adam asked. It wasn’t really a question, he already knew the answer.

Ronan nodded pushing his cheek further into Adam’s hand, “join me after.”

“Okay… but I don’t know how long I’ll be,” he said, and something twisted in Ronan’s stomach. The idea of Robert Parrish once again having the opportunity to put his hands on his son. 

Adam seemed to sense the tension seizing in Ronan’s body, “you know what I mean.”

This didn’t comfort Ronan. He wished he could come, he wished his presence would have made it easier and not more difficult.

Adam leant down, close to Ronan’s face. Ronan could count the freckles, draw lines between the constellations and map out their future. 

“I’ll be fine.” Adam whispered.

Ronan let out a breath, put his own fears behind him, and kissed Adam. An approaching storm. A match in an ocean of gasoline.

Robert Parrish would not lay hands on his son because Adam wouldn’t let him. Adam had saved himself, and he would go on saving himself, and Ronan too, for the rest of their lives. Adam would stand up, say the things he needed to say, ask the things he wanted to ask, and Ronan had faith in him. 

“Take my BMW.” Ronan expected a fight.

“Okay.” Adam expected to be kissed again.

Ribs and hands and mouths and stubble and lips. Fingers at his mouth. If he closed his eyes, he didn’t think he could dream a better world. Though, another Cabeswater, that couldn’t hurt, right?

**Author's Note:**

> Something lil' I wrote. Finished the book today! Come speak to me on tumblr @simonsjumpers


End file.
